Porto’s Bakery & Cafe could break ground on its fifth location in West Covina later this fall now that the city has given the family-owned business permission to demolish an existing vacant building and construct a new restaurant with outdoor patio.

On Tuesday, the city’s Planning Commission voted 4-0 to approve the precise plan to demolish the former Crazy Horse bikini bar and grill building at 1360 W. Garvey Ave. and construct a new two-story, 21,943-square-foot bakery and cafe.

“The anticipation of the arrival of Porto’s coming to West Covina has been enormous,” Commissioner Herb Redholtz said. “People are just thrilled that you’re coming here, so I will wholeheartedly support going forward with this and look forward to many fine meals there.”

Established in 1960, the popular Cuban bakery currently operates restaurants in Burbank, Glendale, Downey and Buena Park. Raul Porto, chief executive officer for Porto’s, said the family business has been wanting to open a location in West Covina for some time and is excited to get started.

“Nobody would ask about that one. Everybody kept asking about West Covina,” he told the commission. “We just think this is probably going to be one of our best stores.”

The ground breaking date for the West Covina restaurant has not been finalized, but business representatives expect to start construction in four to six weeks and open sometime in the late summer or early fall of 2018, said Jorge Villa, who manages Porto’s assets and site planning.

The store will include both indoor and outdoor dining with a separate coffee bar where customers can order individual pastries and coffee. Porto said the location will be open from about 6:30 or 7 a.m. until 8 or 8:30 p.m., seven days a week

Stephanie K. Baer is a general assignment reporter covering the San Gabriel Valley. Baer has written about crime, local government, politics and public health. Her reporting on flaws in Los Angeles County's restaurant grading system prompted officials to change the way they issue health grades to retail food facilities. As part of a fellowship program at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism's Center for Health Journalism, she wrote an in-depth series about the dangers of blue-green algae toxins in California. A Bay Area native and UC Berkeley graduate, Baer has worked for the Chicago Tribune and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was editor-in-chief and president of her college newspaper, The Daily Californian.